Fight Club
by Cassicio
Summary: It's the start of Junior year. Rachel has always been at the bottom of the social heap. Not friends with Puck or Brittany or Santana. At least, that was true by day. Now Rachel Berry's out-of-school persona is coming into the light.
1. Chapter 1

**I know… It's a REALLY stupid idea to start ANOTHER multi-chapter fic while in the midst of two others that I'm already having trouble continuing… I just can't get this idea out of my head and I really want all ya'lls opinions on it to see if I should actually bother continuing it. I will be getting back to the other two fics asap, but for now… Here ya go.**

**A/N 1: I do not own Glee, nor do I own Fight Club, nor do I own any song lyrics used in this chapter.**

**A/N 2: This is going to have eventual Faberry, just sayin' it now. Don't like it, don't read it.**

**A/N 3: Semi-AU… You'll understand in the next couple chapters if I continue this.**

**A/N 4: Rated M for future violence, language and possible sexy times.**

**A/N 5: This is all un-Beta'd, so… All mistakes (Over use of commas and semi-colons, etc) are mine and mine alone.**

**Enjoy?**

….

Glancing at the clock, the brunette rolled silently out of bed. Stretching upwards, she suppressed a groan of satisfaction as her spine made several cracking noises.

Passing the closet containing her 'day time' attire, the girl knelt and opened the bottom drawer of her dresser. Reaching past the layers of jeans, she latched onto a pair of skin-tight black pants, a black sports bra and black tank-top. Slipping these on along with a black zipper-hoodie, she pulled her hair into a tight pony-tail. Lastly, she pulled on a pair of black, fingerless gloves that were marked with several silver and gold ink notches.

Checking her appearance in the mirror, the girl locked deep chocolate eyes with her mirror counter-part. Seeing the determination, excitement and playfulness reflected back at her, her lips quirked up into a smirk.

Gracefully spinning around, the brunette quietly slipped up the stairs, jumping nimbly over the steps that she'd learned would creak. Not that the sound really mattered, her basement was sound proofed, but a little precaution never hurt.

Stepping into the kitchen, she grabbed the black duffle bag hanging near the fridge. A six-pack each of water, Gatorade, beer and Red Bull along with a box of granola bars and a bag of apples joined the set of 'day' clothes already in the duffle.

One good thing about having dads that hardly acknowledged her anymore? They didn't notice anything she did, including what went in and out of the house.

_Not that they would care about whatever I'm up to even if they _did _notice. _The girl thought bitterly, before shaking away the negative thought; clearing her mind once again.

Slipping on a lightly padded leather jacket, the girl stepped out of the house, bare feet padding softly through slightly dewy grass. Grabbing her baby from where it was hidden behind the shed, she wheeled the deep red Ducati onto the road. Straddling the bike, she slipped on her helmet and wrapped the strap of the duffle bag around her waist. The engine started with a quiet roar, the vibrations of the motor coursing through the girl's body.

Blowing casually through the red lights and stop signs (the midnight to early morning police officers of Lima, Ohio seriously sucked at traffic control), she reached the warehouse in under twenty minutes and pulled up beside a truck with a tall, well muscled, mow-hawk sporting teen sitting in the bed. He was dressed similarly to the girl; loose black pants, black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off and bare feet.

Slinging her helmet and jacket through the open truck window into the front seat, the brunette hopped over the edge of the truck bed, landing with hardly a bang due to the sound silencing foam laid into the bed. The boy silently offered her a cup of coffee which she latched onto, inhaling the warm aroma.

"Where's your girl, Puckerman?" The girl's voice was husky yet melodious.

"Has a tournament tomorrow, can't risk bruises or cuts and shit or she won't be allowed to wrestle."

Nodding the girl took a sip of coffee just as a sleek, royal blue Lamborghini pulled up next to them, followed by a dark green dirt-bike. The biker pulled off their helmet, allowing long blonde locks to cascade around her shoulders. Mirroring the brunette's earlier action, the girl tossed her helmet and riding jacket through the Lamborghini's open window into the back seat, revealing an artfully cut up, tight black t-shirt and leg-hugging black pants; she too was bare foot.

As she slipped gracefully off the bike she was joined by the driver of the car, a Latina with long black hair pulled into a pony-tail; tight black pants, a black tank-top that ended just above her belly-button and bare feet matched her to the rest of the group. The blonde pulled her own hair up into a tight pony-tail, allowing one loose lock to frame her light blue eyes.

Linking pinkies, the two girls leaned on the edge of the truck, both grabbing cups of coffee from the boy.

"Hey, Puck, Berry." The Latina greeted them with a nod.

"Satan, Britt." Rachel returned with a two-fingered wave. Finishing the last dregs of her coffee, she slid off the truck and began stretching. "Any information on who's all joining us tonight?"

"I heard there's some new blood." Puck replied as he joined her in stretching.

Rachel smirked as Santana fist pumped. "Yes! This'll be fun." She turned to Rachel, who was now doing hand stand push-ups, shirt slipping up to reveal a well defined set of abs. "Hey, Show off; you best get your gold marker ready, 'cause we gonna kick these new kids' asses." She and Brittany threw their, now empty, coffee cups into the truck bed before also beginning to stretch, using each other as balance.

"And you call me a show off." Rachel scoffed as she flipped, landing lightly on her feet, in order to watch the girls whose left legs were now pointing straight up, forming sideways splits; the only thing balancing them being their clasped hands, which were held at waist level. They didn't wobble a millimeter. Without breaking her concentration, the blonde bent the leg in the air farther, leaning more weight on her brunette counter-part. Santana showed no signs of struggle as she bent herself farther to accommodate her partner. Their legs brushed and they twisted them around each other before slowly releasing hands, still without a wobble. Hands reached to grasp the foot connecting each girl to the ground. Unwrapping their in-air legs, they slowly lowered them until they once more stood upright, matching triumphant grins gracing their faces.

Puck stepped forward. "My turn, babes." Backing up a good twenty feet from the three girls, he faced the back of his truck. Sprinting forward, he dove into a series of front flips. He reached the truck with his hands on the ground and, without missing a beat, bent his elbows, pushing off from the ground. With his hands landing on the truck edge, his body was still perpendicular to the ground and he performed another flip, landing upright, facing the cab of his truck. Placing his palms onto the roof of the truck, he slowly lifted his body back into the hand-stand position. Once more pushing off the vehicle, he 360-ed in mid-flip and landed in a crouch in front of his truck. Standing, he dusted off his hands and clothing, breath only flowing slightly heavier to and from his lungs.

"Damn it!" Rachel groaned. "Now you guys make me feel like I did nothing."

"Don't worry, Rach." Brittany slung an arm around the petite girl's shoulders. "You'll have plenty of time to show off while teaching the new people that you're a tiny concentrated steel wall and dynamite all rolled into one." Rachel smiled at the image of smirks being smashed off the faces of the unsuspecting and stereotyping new comers. Her body was small, but it was completely made up of muscle, energy and stamina. They wouldn't know what hit them.

The other three also should never be underestimated, and together the four were a deadly combination. They ruled with a combination of intense training, raw talent and an unbreakable bond of loyalty and trusted with each other.

Hopping back into the truck bed, Rachel pulled open her duffle bag, tossing a Gatorade to each of her companions. Tapping the four bottles together, they each took a long sip. Brittany then pulled a set of arm bands from a compartment under the seat of her bike; passing the red one to Rachel, the blue one to Santana, the white one to Puck and keeping the green on for herself. Finally, Santana passed out small black towels and equally black medical tape to wrap around their hands, forearms, feet and ankles; protecting them from broken bones.

It was their ritual every time they had a club meet. Puck brought the coffee. Rachel brought food and drink. Brittany brought their bands and make-up for them to conceal any visible injuries from teachers, classmates, friends, family and acquaintances (only Puck could get away with regular signs of injury, since his participation in 'random brawls' was common knowledge). Lastly, Santana brought medical equipment (her house was always stocked with it due to having two doctors for parents) and towels.

When Lauren joined them she brought nothing but insults; however, the girls tolerated her for Puck's sake and because she was a capable fighter.

Just as Rachel slipped her gloves back over her freshly wrapped hands, each of their cell phone alarms went off simultaneously.

_I fight authority, Authority always wins__. __Well, I fight authority, Authority always wins__. __Well, I've been doing it since I was a young kid__; __I come out grinnin'__. __Well, I fight authority, Authority always wins. _**(Puck)**

_Yeah, you're fucked all right – and all for spite__. __You can kiss your sorry ass goodbye__. __Totally fucked – will they mess you up?__Well you know they're gonna try.__  
><em>_Blah, blah, blah blah, blah, blah, blah__  
><em>_Blah, blah, blah blah, blah, blah, blah _**(Rachel)**

_Take me, I'm alive__. __I never was a girl with a wicked mind__; __But everything looks better when the sun goes down__. __I had everything, opportunities for eternity,__ a__nd I could belong to the night.__  
><em>_Eyes, your eyes__; __I can see in your eyes, your eyes__, __you make me wanna die. _**(Santana)**

_But when schoolgirl pigtails won't do__, __and I need to control my do__; __you're the only one I can count on__. __My headband__; __you're my headband. _**(Brittany)**

They formed a familiar line; Rachel's arms wrapped around Puck and Brittany's waists; Brittany and Santana each with an arm wrapped around the other's upper back, halfway to groping each other; and Puck with an arm draped around Rachel's shoulders, keeping its distance from her boob (He'd learned his lesson after receiving a broken pinky as a warning the first time). Confidence radiated off of them as they entered the warehouse.

….

**So… How do you like my quadrangle of badassery?**

**Songs are:**

**Puck = Authority Song – John Mellencamp**

**Rachel = Totally Fucked – Spring Awakening**

**Santana = Makes Me Wanna Die – The Pretty Reckless**

**Brittany = My Headband – Lea Michele**

**Anyways… Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Anger? Love?**

**Seriously, please Review, I would be forever grateful, and it might help spur me into working on updates for all my fics.**


	2. Matches 1 and 2

**Alright… It has been, literally, SOOO long since I worked on this fic. I've been meaning to, I really have. This chapter came together in bits and pieces and I'm not exactly sure if it's really as up to par as I'd like. But I'll see what you guys have to say.**

**A/N1: Don't own Glee or its characters. Don't own Fight Club rules, regulations, ideas. Just own the idea of mashing them together with some twists ;)**

**A/N2: I have no beta. All mistakes are my own.**

…

The foursome strode across the dirt-floored warehouse towards the raised ring in the center. On the way they paused at a table being manned by a barrel-chested blond with an eye-patch resting where his right eye should be. His hard face melted into a friendly smirk upon spotting the quad.

"Puckasaurus, Star, Stix and Dancer; knew ya'll would show up eventually." His voice was gravelly with a slight southern twang. Offering out a hand, he waited as each of the four placed two twenty dollar bills into it. "Dunno why I bother collecting from you four anymore. You nearly always come away with them and about ten other peoples' money by the end of the night."

Rachel shrugged with a small smile quirking up the left side of her mouth. "Only fair, I guess, Garret." She got a nod of agreement from the man before being ushered on towards the ring.

"I guess those are the new people." Santana said quietly, jerking a thumb towards a quintet huddled together on the opposite side of the ring.

Rachel's eyes grew wide as she saw them straighten up, spotting a familiar brunet. "No fucking way." The other three looked at her curiously, following her gaze to the man, who was just turning to face them. Their jaws dropped as the cocky and smugly smirking face of Jesse St. James came into view.

Puck, recovering the fastest, cracked his knuckles menacingly. "Oh this is gonna be fun. Can't wait to punch that smirk off of St. Asshole's face."

Rachel placed a hand on his arm calmly, a look of icy determination stealing over her features while brown eyes blazed with fire. "He's mine, Noah."

Puck was about to protest, but caught sight of Santana slowly shaking her head at him, conveying with a glance that he shouldn't argue with the singer. Sighing, he nodded. "K, Rach. Lay some good punches into the bastard's face, will you?"

Rachel nodded, eyes still locked on her ex-boyfriend. She was drawn into memories of humiliation; feeling the shadowy remembrance of egg yolk dripping down her face. Jesse's eyes then locked with her own, shock stealing across his face. Rachel's lips lifted into a cold and devilish smirk, spelling clear warning for the male diva. Scoffing, the man turned back to his teammates.

"Alright, time for rosters people. Star, you and the other three are up first, as champs of the last round." A short, stocky man in a ref shirt and pants stood in the center of the ring. "Pick a fighting opponent."

The girl pointed across the ring. "I'll take St. James." Jesse just laughed.

"You honestly think you can take me, Rachel?" He didn't notice the regular fight club attendees shaking their heads and throwing pitying looks towards the unknowing new comer.

"You'll just have to find out in the ring, Jesse."

The rest of the quad each picked one of the members from Jesse's group. Puck was taking on a skinny guy with short black hair and green eyes, while Brittany and Santana were each facing off against one of a pair of red-headed twin girls.

They were placed last on the fight list, so they took a seat on the floor to watch the other matches. Some of the more skilled fighters flowed smoothly and powerfully through their fights before one opponent was knocked out or tapped out. The less experienced ones crashed together without reason, ending with excessive injuries that could well have been prevented. Finally it was time for Puck's match.

Gripping the bottom barrier rope, the teen levered himself into the ring. The bell rang, and Puck's opponent began a slow circle. Puck waited patiently, never taking his eyes off the man. A sudden kick towards the back of his knee was stopped by a swift hand latching around the man's ankle. "Ah, ah, ah. Nice try." Twisting the ankle, he flipped the guy over and sent him face first into the ring floor with a slight crunching sound. Placing a foot on his back, Puck proceeded to pull the leg towards his head, until a whimper and frantic tapping rhythm was heard, followed by the bell ringing. "Damn," Puck sighed disappointedly, "didn't even last ten minutes. What a rip off." Picking the man up, he shoved him unceremoniously towards his teammates, before hopping back over the ropes.

"I think you broke his nose." Brittany said, tilting her head as she examined the blood gushing from Puck's opponent's nose.

Puck shrugged. "Not my fault the guy doesn't know how to keep his face from meeting the floor."

Before the conversation could continue, Garret called out the next pair. "Alright, Emm and Dancer, you're up.

Brittany smiled, bouncing up to slide between the ropes. "Hey there! Welcome to the club. Sorry about your friend's nose, but he really should know how to stop his face from greeting the floor."

The red-headed girl blinked at the rapidly spoken words before smirking. "Yes well, you'll find that I won't be making the same mistakes as Jerome."

"Oh goody, you might actually be fun to beat."

The smirk morphed into a scowl. "I think you'll find that you're the one who's gonna get their ass beat, blondie."

Outside the ring, Santana's fists clenched. "That puta did _not _just threaten my girl." She hissed.

Rachel placed a calming hand on the Latina's shoulder. "Don't worry, S, you know Britt will enjoy changing the new girl's mind." The two teammates shared a smile.

The bell rang and Brittany's happy smile grew wider. Growling, Emm swung towards the blonde's jaw, only to meet with thin air as the other girl skipped to the side. Spinning towards her, Emm launched into a flurry of kicks and punches. Staying true to her fight name, Brittany danced around the ring, evading the blows with a look of ease.

Despite having seen the display in front of them many times, Puck, Santana and Rachel watched with awe; admiring the fluid, graceful steps the blonde took.

Finally, one high punch clipped Brittany's jaw, sending her stumbling into the rope barrier. Instead of following up on the attack, Emm stumbled back to lean against the opposite side of the ring, gasping for breath.

Brittany flexed her jaw, checking for any serious damage. Finding none, she smiled again, wincing slightly. Darting forward, she stopped directly in front of her recovering opponent. Startled, the red-head threw a wild punch, only to have her fist caught in the blonde's steel grip.

"That was a pretty nice blow you landed there; but a little on the weak side. Let me show you how it's done." Rearing back her arm, Brittany crashed her fist into Emm's jaw, knocking the girl to the floor. Bending down, Brittany found that she'd knocked her opponent out cold. Picking the girl up with ease, she handed her over to Jesse, before returning to her teammates.

"That's my Britts." Santana grinned, slinging an arm around her girlfriend's waist.

Brittany simply shrugged. "I just wanted to show her the right technique." She said with a small smirk.

…

**So… Enjoy the first two fights? I know Puck's should've been longer… But I think he'll have plenty more opportunities in future fights.**

**Surprised by the opponents? I didn't know who to pick at first, then Jesse St. Asshole just popped into my head.**

**Next'll be San and Rachel's matches I think. Though I may make Rachel's a chapter all its own.**

**Please review!**


	3. Matches 3 and 4

**Hey everybody! I'm back with another chapter! I'm kinda on a roll! Though I actually am now stuck on how to continue… I'll figure it out!**

**So… Yeah, just to give readers of my other fics a heads up:**

_**Changed Directions: **_**I have ideas that I am attempting to form into another chapter, which will hopefully be up asap.**

_**Drinking Games: **_**I have been given some WONDERFUL ideas by '****SeddieShortBus' in regards to themes for chapters and will hopefully maybe be busting out a few in the coming week(s)**

_**Gleeful RENT: **_**Okay… I am at a bit of a roadblock with this one at the moment, but I have some stuff for later chapters in the works. Anyone feel free to PM me with ideas you may have that could get me writing again.**

**Thank you to all the people who have reviewed this since I restarted it! It means a lot to know that there are still people reading this fic despite its super long time of not being updated.**

**A/N1: Don't own Glee. Don't own anything with Fight Club. Just own the idea of mixing them together into this fanfic.**

**A/N2: I have no Beta, therefore all mistakes are my own.**

**Enjoy?**

…

Santana leaned against the rope barrier, watching her opponent study her. Suddenly springing forward, the Latina latched onto the girl's left wrist and twisted her arm up behind her back. Leaning back and away, she dodged the elbow and head aimed to bash into her. However, a kick to the knee landed, forcing Santana to release the girl and fall back on her ass to avoid a broken leg.

Ali, unlike her twin, took advantage of the Latina's fall, landing a roundhouse kick to that sent Santana's head snapping to the side and crashing into the mat. Another kick caught her in the gut.

Ignoring the pain, Santana latched onto the other girl's leg, tugging it and sending the red-head crashing to the floor. Rolling on top of the stunned girl, Santana slammed a fist into her stomach, pushing the air from Ali's lungs in the form of a gasp.

The Latina stood with a wince, her belly-shirt revealing a nasty set of bruises already beginning to form across her abs, matching the ones she was sure were across her face.

Brittany flinched, causing her own colorfully bruised jaw to twinge. "Cheer practice is gonna suck today." Puck and Rachel grimaced in sympathy at the blonde's statement.

Santana flipped Ali over, pinning her down by straddling the girl's lower back. Threading a hand into red hair, she yanked Ali's head back, wrapping a free arm around her throat. The headlock cutoff Ali's air supply and her face grew red as she struggled against the hold. Finally, the sound of a hand hitting the floor twice echoed around the warehouse.

Releasing her grip, Santana stood up, allowing her opponent to roll over and offering a hand to help the girl up. Taking the offered hand, the red-head was gently pulled to her feet before receiving a quick nod and then watching Santana walk back to her teammates.

…

Santana hissed in pain as she was pulled down to lie on the floor, her head in Brittany's lap.

"Take it easy today, Stix. You have to if you wanna survive school, Glee and Cheerios." Rachel handed Brittany the bruise balm as she spoke.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother."

Rachel simply smirked at the comment. Turning towards the ring, she schooled her features into a stony mask, eyes hardening to ice. Walking forward, she hoisted herself into the ring where Jesse St. James waited for her.

…

I must say, Rachel, I am quite surprised to see you here. Of course, after not even placing at Regionals, you must need something to occupy your time; what with losing Glee Club and all."

Rachel ignored the jabbing insults, choosing not to inform her ex of the fact that Glee got another year. Instead her lips stayed pressed together in a tight line. Taking off her gloves, she tossed them towards Puck, never taking her eyes off her ex-boyfriend.

Jesse smirked as the match began. "Don't be too scared, Rachel. I'll try and go easy on you." Snorts of laughter rose from Rachel's teammates at the statement, and regular fight members' eyes widened, knowing the boy would be in for a rude awakening.

Rachel tilted her head to the side slightly, studying her ex. "I would suggest you don't hold back, because I certainly won't be, St. James."

Jesse's smirk just became cockier at the warning. He took a step forward and found himself with his back flat on the floor, a throbbing pain in his chin and throat. Dazed eyes blinked open and he took in the girl, her foot lowering slowly from where it had smashed into his neck. He hadn't even seen Rachel move. Grimacing, he pushed himself to his feet, now watching his ex-girlfriend warily.

"What no more snarky remarks, Jesse?" Rachel asked.

The boy growled, lunging forward and hooking an arm around Rachel's waist and using the momentum to throw her back into the ropes. Seconds later he found himself back on the ground, this time clutching his gut, where Rachel's knee had landed.

Rachel knelt down by the boy's head. "Let me just say this, Jesse. You might as well stay on the ground, 'because otherwise you'll just be greeting it over and over again." She whispered in his ear. An elbow flew out and rammed into her side, making her stumble back. Jesse stood up again, this time with a hand wrapped around his stomach. The damn smirk was back in place.

"Looks like your ego has managed to grow even more, I didn't know that was possible. I'll have to deflate it some."

"You're one to talk, St. James." Rachel said through gritted teeth. Moving forward, she slammed a fist into his cheek, her other hand grabbing the front of his shirt, keeping him in place. Another punch to the face landed before Jesse managed to break her hold on him and land a backhand across her face. Rachel's lip split from the contact and a trickle of blood ran down from the corner of her mouth.

"Damn, I meant to hit that beak of a nose. Maybe if I break it you'll finally get it downsized." Jesse's chuckled

"St. Fuckhead must have a death wish." Santana whispered. Puck and Brittany nodded in agreement.

Before Jesse could say anything more he was cut-off by Rachel barreled into his stomach, knocking him to the floor, and crashed a knee into his groin. Letting out a strangled yelp, the boy attempted to sit up, causing Rachel to apply more pressure to her knee. A half sob flew from Jesse's throat and he slammed a palm into the floor twice.

Rachel stood up slowly, wincing as her abdomen protested the movement. Grabbing the front of Jesse's shirt, she pulled him up till their faces were an inch apart. "Listen here, St. James. I can't stop you from coming back here, but you do anything to me or my friends and family again and I will rip your fucking balls off." She growled out. Jesse nodded dumbly, eyes wide and hands cupped between his legs. Satisfied, Rachel turned him around and shoved him towards his teammates.

Puck handed Rachel her gloves and the gold sharpie as she stepped out of the ring. Uncapping the marker, the brunette made four marks across the base of the left glove.

"Alright bitches, now that we've kicked some ass, let's get cleaned up. Cheerios practice starts in like an hour." Santana said, lifting herself to her feet and helping Brittany up.

The foursome walked towards the warehouse entrance, stopping only to receive the eighty dollars they'd each earned from winning their respective matches.

…

**Okay, so originally I was planning on cutting chapter three off at the end of Santana's match and making Rachel and Jesse's match its own chapter, but then it would've been two tiny chapters instead of this semi-short one.**

**So, badass Berry. You like?**

**Read and Review and feed me any and all ideas, thoughts, critiques, etc. that you may have!**


	4. Time For The Real Me

**It has been forever, hasn't it… Okay, I apologize. I've had a really hard time getting over my writer's block for this fic and _Gleeful RENT_, but I'm working on it! I mean, look, this is starting up again. It's not a ton, only 1,400 words or so, but at least it's something. Right?**

**And I KNOW I need to update _Changed Directions_. I AM working on it! I just hit a roadblock in the midst of the latest chapter… I am trying to get through it! But it may take a bit.**

**Anyways, I'll let you get to this after a few disclaimers.**

**A/N1: FINN BASHING! (yaaaaaaaaaay)**

**A/N2: Don't own Glee. Wish I did…**

**A/N3: No Beta. All mistakes are my own.**

**So… Enjoy?**

…

Slipping her bike back behind the shed, Rachel entered her house. She sipped at a Red Bull as she stripped and turned on a lukewarm shower. Hissing as the water hit her body, the singer took stock of the injuries she'd gained from today's match. Several bruises covered her upper arms and a larger one tinged her left side black, blue and purple. There was a small cut running diagonally through her right eyebrow, her lip was split and her right cheek contained a black and blue mark.

_Well this is gonna be fun to cover up_

Making a mental note to avoid any and all slushies in order to keep the bruised cheek covered, Rachel quickly finished her shower. Stepping back into her room, she opened her closet; grabbing black jeans, a white tank-top and short-sleeved white button-up. She ignored the part of her brain proclaiming that she looked 'too much like a normal teen,' which would attract attention.

_You know what? Fuck it. It's a new year. Why shouldn't I show the real me?_

With that thought, Rachel grabbed a skinny red tie and black fedora to add to her outfit.

_McKinley High, prepare to meet the **real **Rachel Berry._

…

After brushing her teeth, applying cover-up and eyeliner, wrapping a white ace bandage around her abdomen, and dressing, Rachel jogged upstairs. She froze at the entrance to the kitchen, surprised to see her daddy, Hiram, sitting at the island with a cup of coffee and the newspaper.

"Daddy, shouldn't you be at work?"

"Good morning, sweetie."

Mentally, Rachel rolled her eyes. Her parents only ever called her that when one or both of them were going away on a business trip or vacation; which was often, because her daddy was a world renowned neurosurgeon and her dad, Leroy, a much sought after defense lawyer. Both were rarely in Lima at all, and when they were there they worked long hours. So Rachel had practically raised herself since age twelve, having been taken care of by a nanny until then.

Realizing that she'd zoned out, Rachel blinked, catching the tail end of Hiram's speech.

"So your dad and I will be away for two months. We replenished your bank account, so you should be good. If not, you have our phone numbers. Alright, sweetie?"

"Sure daddy, I'll be fine."

"Good." Her daddy nodded, standing up. "Have a good start to the school year. We'll see you in a couple months." He left the room.

Needless to say, her dads knew nothing about the torment and numerous slushie facials that their daughter had received nearly every day of the last two years she'd spent at McKinley High School.

Shaking away the bitter thoughts, Rachel grabbed an apple and her canvas messenger bag, heading outside to wait for Noah to pick her up. Not two minutes had passed before she heard the low rumble of her fellow Jew's white pick-up.

Sliding into the passenger seat, the brunette grabbed another Red Bull from her black duffle bag that was still inside the vehicle. Noticing that the truck wasn't moving, she turned towards Puck, raising an eyebrow at the surprised expression he bore.

"Is there something on my face, Noah?"

He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow of his own. "No; but there is my JewBro's style instead of school Berry. You finally taking off the schoolgirl mask, babe?"

"I just felt like it was time my peers met the real me."

He pulled out of her driveway. "Does that mean you're coming out too? Cause you fake pining after Finn to hide your desire for my baby mama was kinda gross."

Rachel shuddered. "Don't remind me. I'm so glad I dumped him once school ended."

"Yeah, though I feel kinda bad for the dining room chair he kicked halfway through the wall. Anyways, is Narnia losing a member of the lady lovin' clan?"

Rachel pursed her lips, contemplating. A smirk then lifted the left side of her mouth. "I think it will. In fact, I think, in true _Rachel Berry style_, I'll kick the closet door open with a song."

"I love that smirk. That's your mischief smirk. What song, my Jewish American Princess?" Pulling into a spot in the McKinley parking lot, he turned to face his best friend.

"Well, are you up to using lunch and the last two periods of school to learn a new song? I could use your guitar skills."

"Do you even have to ask?" He kicked open the truck door. "Now come on JewBabe; let's go show off the real you."

Rachel stepped out of the pick-up, smirk still in place. Pulling a pair of Ray-Bands out of her bag, she slipped them on. Sharing a fist bump with her JewBro, the two headed through the main entrance to McKinley High. Murmurs filled the hallway as people followed the pair with their eyes. Rachel had to suppress a laugh as she heard several people ask who the 'hot new girl' was.

Stopping at her locker, she dropped off the fedora, letting her hair fall in loose waves over her shoulders. Sliding the sunglasses up into her hair, she turned around, smirk growing as people began realizing that the 'hot new girl' was actually her. Noticing Jacob Ben Israel coming towards her and Puck with a microphone and cameraman, her smirk changed to a thin line.

"Wow Rachel, you look so hot." He started to cross closer to her, but was shoved back by Puck.

"Yeah, she does. And you're gonna leave my hot JewBabe alone or there'll be a porta potty with your name on it for the rest of the year."

Swallowing thickly, the smaller boy took a step back. "Is Puckleberry an item again, then?"

Turning to face each other, the two burst out laughing; when they had finally calmed down, leaning on each other for support and clutching their sides, they looked back towards JewFro.

"That ship sailed long ago, Jacob. Noah's like my brother."

"Yeah." Puck agreed, slinging an arm around Rachel's shoulders. "Rachel's my bro."

Jacob nodded, before asking his next question. "Rachel, are you still too heartbroken from your ex-boyfriend, one Finn Hudson, dumping you at the beginning of this summer?"

The two friends stiffened, Rachel's knuckles turning white with the tightening of her fists. Puck reached out and dragged the interviewer forward by his shirt.

"How told you that?" The mowhawked boy growled out.

"F-Finn did, when I interviewed him a few minutes ago." Jacob squeaked out.

"That asshole." Rachel spoke through gritted teeth. "Get this straight, Israel; I. Dumped. Him."

Jacob's eyes widened and he nodded rapidly. Puck shoved him away, following after Rachel, who was now stalking down the hallway.

The brunette easily spotted her giant ex, who stood against his locker.

"Finnocence!" She shouted out, drawing the attention of the whole hallway. "I understand that you aren't bright and your memory might not be that great; so let me refresh your memory. I was the one who dumped your sorry ass the first week of summer. I have the broken chair and patched up wall in my house as evidence."

The students around her began to whisper and the tall boy began to turn red. He stalked towards Rachel and Puck once more stepped in front of the girl, shoving Finn away. "Step off my JewBro, Hudson. You know it's true."

"Why the fuck are you defending that _bitch_?" Finn yelled. Rachel grabbed Puck's arm, stopping him from attacking the other boy. However, she wasn't able to stop Brittany from crossing out from behind Finn and slapping him across the face. He then crumpled to the ground with a yelp, clutching his right leg. Santana stood behind him, fiery eyes locked on the whimpering boy.

"Now I know you didn't just call my girl Rae a bitch, Finneptitude. Cause I know she was only correcting a mistake you told JewFro in regards to who broke up with whom. Which, just to reclarify, was _you _getting dumped by Rachel." The Latina then stepped around Finn, linking pinkies with Brittany and wrapping an arm around Rachel's waist. "Rach, B, Puck; let's get to class befo0re Finncompetent, does something that results in one of us getting arrested for manslaughter. Puck placed his arm around Rachel's shoulders again, completing the foursome.

"Does this mean San and I get to be friends with you in school now, Ray-Ray?"

"Yeah Britt, I think it does." Rachel smiled at her tall blonde friend. Slipping out of Noah and Santana's holds, she gave a short wave and entered her first hour class.

…

**This fic went a bit differently than I planned when starting it… But I kinda like it. Tell me what you think?**

**And yes, Quinn will be appearing by the next chapter.**

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!**


	5. She Wolf

**K… So I was SUPPOSED to have this done by this weekend, but… I was really busy. Hope you don't mind a day late.**

**Anyways, here is your update!**

**A/N1: **

_italic lyrics = Rachel_

**bold lyrics = Puck, Brittany and Santana**

underlined lyrics = changed from the original song

**A/N2: Don't own Glee… I wouldn't have ever had Quinn hit by a car… And Faberry would be cannon… And the show would be so absolutely gay… Also… Finn would be bashed or EXTREMELY gay… Yupp.**

**A/N3: I have no Beta. All mistakes are my own.**

…

While 'Schoolgirl Berry' had always thrived on any attention, Rachel actually liked when that attention was reserved for when she was performing (hence, 'Schoolgirl Berry' _being_ a performance, the attention seeking speaks for itself). That being said, Rachel enjoyed her privacy, solitary moments, and time alone with her close friends.

By lunch time, Rachel was ready to punch the next wide-eyed classmate or drooling guy to look at her or ask her out. Rushing into the choir room, she slammed the door shut and leaned against it, eyes closed.

"A few too many spotlights shining on you, babe?"

Rachel's eyes shot open, taking in the sight of Puck. He held a guitar in each hand; one acoustic, one electric.

"At least, when I was pretending to be someone else, I was ignored a lot of the time."

"Except when you were slushied or insulted." Puck pointed out. "And the attention'll die down after awhile."

"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled. "Anyways, here's the music." She showed him a couple sheets of music. "Like it?"

Glancing at the title, the boy burst out laughing.

"Perfect, JewBabe. This is perfect." He placed the acoustic guitar aside. "Let's do this."

…

Glee Club's first meeting began as most of them did. William Shuester was late. The only eyebrow raising differences were: Rachel, Puck, Brittany and Santana sitting together in the back, talking and joking amongst themselves. And Quinn hadn't arrived yet.

Silence permeated the room when Quinn Fabray _did _enter the room. Everyone's eyes locked onto the newly re-clad Cheerio. A double white 'C' was stitched onto the left shoulder of the uniform.

"You're the co-captain that Coach was talking about? Best not try to take my spot, bitch."

Brittany elbowed Santana in the side, lightly. "San, be nice."

Quinn smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it, S. I think that, together, we can whip those girls into shape."

Santana grinned. "Hell yes! Glad to have you back, my fellow HBIC." Standing and crossing to Quinn, she linked arms with the blonde, tugging her over to sit with the quartet.

Brittany dragged her fellow blonde into a tight hug. "I missed hanging out with you, Q."

Quinn's smirk changed into a genuine smile. "I missed you too, B." She then turned to face the two Jews of the group. After sharing a small, weak smile of understanding with Puck, her eyes locked onto Rachel. Her eyebrow rose. "Wow, Berry. I'd heard rumors, but I couldn't picture it. Someone take a torch to your old wardrobe?"

"I haven't burned my cheap slushy outfits." Rachel replied with a half smile. "I'm thinking I'll donate most of them. Maybe they'll go to a grandmother, or slushy victim, in need. I think I'll keep some of the skirts though." She said, winking at the blonde.

A light blush stained Quinn's cheeks; but, before she could reply, Mr. Shuester finally entered the choir room.

"Welcome to a new year, guys!" He grinned. "Now, I know that losing at Regionals last year was tough; but we're not going to let Vocal Adrenaline, or anyone else, stop us from getting to Nationals this year. And if you need more motivation," he uncapped a marker and turned to the board. "Nationals this year… are in New York." He underlined the two words. Cheers erupted around the room. "However," the Glee coach raised his hands, quieting the noise. "Since Matt transferred, we're short a member that we need in order to compete. So," He faced the board again. Turning back, **RECRUTEMENT **was written. "We need more people, and you need to get them."

Mercedes raised a hand. "No offense Mr. Shue, but who would wanna subject themselves to the bottom of the social heap by joining Glee Club? I mean, we got to Regionals last year, and we even have the most popular people as members." She gestured to the cheerleaders and jocks. "But we still get daily slushy facials and tosses into the dumpsters." A murmur of agreement passed through the group.

Rachel stood up, crossing to the front of the room. "Guys, weren't we at the bottom last year?"

"Yeah, and?" Mercedes replied.

"Well, last year we didn't even have getting to Regionals as a reason to join; but we still got twelve members. Even if some of them had ulterior motives." She glanced at the three Cheerios. "Or were tricked into it." She raised an eyebrow at Mr. Shuester, flicking her eyes towards Finn and back. Will's eyes widened, realizing that Rachel knew how he'd gotten Finn to join the club.

"What I'm saying is," Rachel continued, "if we got twelve last year, we can get at least one person to join this year."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Kurt deadpanned.

"You got Mike, Noah and Matt to join after your 'Single Ladies' routine won them the football game, right?" Kurt nodded, smirking slightly. "Well, I was thinking-"

"I have an idea!" Finn cut in, hoping to one-up his ex.

William grinned at the boy. "Let's hear it, Finn." Rachel rolled her eyes at the teacher's 'protégé' complex when concerning Finn; but she waved off Santana and Puck, who both showed signs of protesting Rachel being cut off.

"We're in New York for Nationals. Why don't we announce that with a performance outside during lunch. We could sing… Um."

"Empire State of Mind!" Mercedes shouted.

"That sounds awesome, you guys." Mr. Shue said, clasping a hand onto Finn's shoulder. "You all can practice today and perform tomorrow at lunch."

"Mr. Shue, if I may." Rachel spoke up. "Before we begin practicing, I have a piece I'd like to sing. It expresses something important that I want to _come out _to the group about." She smirked at the snorts of laughter rising from her three best friends.

"Um… Sure, Rachel. The floor is yours." Will pulled Finn towards the chairs.

"Noah, if you would." She gestured to the guitar stands. The mowhawked boy stood up with a grin and crossed to grab the electric, slinging the strap across his shoulder.

Giving a nod to the band, Rachel began swaying to the drum beat. Santana and Brittany, recognizing the song, sang the opening lines.

**S.O.S she's in disguise  
>S.O.S she's in disguise<br>There's a she wolf in disguise,  
>Coming out, coming out, coming out<strong>

Sliding forward, the brunette began singing huskily.__

_A domesticated girl, that's all you ask of me,  
>Darling it is no joke, this is lycanthropy.<br>Moon's awake now, with eyes wide open  
>My body is craving, so feed the hungry<em>

_I've been devoting myself to you  
>Monday to Monday<br>And Friday to Friday  
>Not getting enough retribution or decent incentives to keep me at it<br>I'm starting to feel just a little abused  
>Like a coffee machine in an office (aaa)<br>So I'm gonna go somewhere closer  
>To get me a lover and tell you about it<em>

Crossing to Brittany, Rachel pulled the blonde into a complex series of steps that appeared to be the love child of hip-hop and tango.__

_There's a she wolf in your closet,  
>Open up and set it free [awooo]<br>There's a she wolf in your closet,  
>Let it out so it can breathe<em>

Rachel inhaled and exhaled heavily, pulling away from her dance partner and facing the group again. Her eyes then latched onto another blonde in the room, one with bright, hazel eyes.__

_Sitting across a bar, staring right at her prey,  
>It's going well so far, she's gonna get her way.<br>Nocturnal creatures are not so prudent,  
>The moon's my teacher, and I'm her student.<em>

Stalking forward, she circled Quinn, husking the words into her ear. Rachel smirked at the shiver that ran along the cheerleader's spine.__

_To locate a single __woman__ I've got on me a special radar,  
>And the fire department hotline in case I get in trouble later<br>Not looking for cute little divas or rich city __gals__ that just want to enjoy  
>I'm having a very good time and behave very bad in the arms of a <em>_girl__  
><em>

All of the Glee Club members, outside of the foursome, stared wide-eyed as they caught the pronoun changes. Slipping away from her 'prey', Rachel then pulled Santana into a dance, though it was really more grinding and hip rolling than dance steps.

_There's a she wolf in your closet,  
>Open up and set it free [awooo]<br>There's a she wolf in your closet,  
>Let it out so it can breathe <em>

Again, the singer inhaled and exhaled audibly. Looking down as her companions once again sang.

**S.O.S she's in disguise  
>S.O.S she's in disguise<br>There's a she wolf in disguise,  
>Coming out, coming out, coming out<strong>

**S.O.S she's in disguise  
>S.O.S she's in disguise<br>There's a she wolf in disguise,  
>Coming out, coming out, coming out<strong>_  
><em>

During the musical interlude, Rachel raised her head, rolling her hips in time with the rhythm. Catching hazel eyes once again, a seductive smile slide across her face.

_There's a she wolf in your closet,  
>Let it out so it can breathe<em>

With one last heaving breath, the music cut off, with Rachel's face once more facing the ground.

…

**So… What did you think?**

**The song is: She Wolf by Shakira**

**I know I may get a few unhappy people by leaving it there but… I'll try and update asap. I'm goin' on a driving trip to Buffalo, New York to visit a college this weekend. Perhaps I'll get a chance to write an update or two on the drive there and back. Yeah?**

**So… REVIEW PLEASE.**


	6. Insults and Favoritism

**I was supposed to have this up last weekend… My excuse is that this week has been tech-week for my school's spring play. So I've been at school everyday till between 10pm and 11pm.**

**A/N1: I don't own Glee or any songs mentioned in this chapter.**

**A/N2: You're probs about to hate Finn even more… And also Mr. Shue.**

**A/N3: I have no Beta, all mistakes are my own.**

**Here ya go:**

…

"What the hell was that, Rachel?" Finn yelled, leaping to his feet. "First, you break up with me at the beginning of the summer for no reason. Now you're saying you're a _dyke_!" He was oblivious to the flinches and stiffened postures spreading through the room as he continued. "Did your fag fathers convert you this summer so they could actually stand to be around you for more than a few minutes?"

Rachel's whole body froze. She felt the eyes of her teammates, outside of her three best friends, staring at her with confusion and pity. Clenching her hands into fists and her eyes shut, and gritting her teeth, the brunette's entire body trembled with the strain of trying to keep her anger in check. Hearing two chairs bang into the wall, she quickly put a hand up, stopping Puck and Santana from attacking Finn. When her eyes snapped open everyone could see the rage burning in them; though only Santana, Brittany and Puck could see the pain and sadness also buried in chocolate orbs.

Pointing a shaking finger at Finn, Rachel began speaking, the lack of emotion in her voice vastly contradicting her body language. "Listen here, Hudson, and listen well, because I'm not going to give you another warning. First, the fact is that you only know about my parents' usual absences because I had to invite you over to keep up the façade I used in the sham of a relationship we had." She continued before Finn could interrupt. "Secondly, at least two people in this room are openly gay. Using the derogatory, ignorant terms you just spoke is an insult to both of us. You will apologize once I'm done speaking. Third, yes, Finn, I am a lesbian. I have no shame in admitting that. Nor do I have shame in the fact that I used you as a gay beard. I went after you and, just like that, you cheated on your girlfriend by kissing me." Rachel looked at the girl in question, eyes shining apologetically. The blonde nodded in forgiveness. "You then," Rachel continued, turning back to Finn, "proceeded to pretend you broke up with said girlfriend, who, at the time, you believed was pregnant with _your_ child. All that, in order to date me so you could use me to get yourself a music scholarship. And honestly, I only pursued you to break up you and the real object of my affection." She glanced at Quinn once again, winking at the wide-eyed blonde. "Face it, Finnocence, I like girls, and I always have."

"You bitch!" the red-faced boy screeched, speeding towards Rachel with a raised fist. Stepping to the side, the girl plowed a knee into his gut, forcing all the air out of his lungs. She then smashed her joined fists into his kidney with a devastating haymaker, effectively temporarily handicapping the boy.

Pale arms encircled her waist, stopping her from causing further damage. Rachel only struggled against the dancer for a few seconds, before sagging against her.

Looking at the crying, swearing boy on the ground, the singer sneered. "Trying to attack a girl half your size, Hudson? How manly of you." The sarcasm dripped off each word. Turning away from her ex, she followed Brittany back up to the risers.

The Glee coach crossed over to Finn, helping the boy to his feet and to limp over to a chair. "Rachel, despite Finn's unacceptable words, violence isn't tolerated. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the rest of rehearsal, and be glad I don't talk to Figgins about this."

"Mister Shue! That's not fair!"

"Did you completely miss the fact that she was just defending herself?"

"If anyone should be punished, it's that pedazo de mierda."

Kurt, Puck and Santana spoke simultaneously.

"Guys, don't." Rachel said quietly, locking eyes with her three defenders. "I'll see you all tomorrow." She stood, grabbing her bag.

"Did you lose your stubborn self-righteousness along with your bad fashion sense, Berry?" The question was asked flatly. "Because, it seems to me that the giant man-child in the room attacked you first and you reacted in self-defense. I never thought you'd take unfairness to yourself lying down." Quinn shrugged, "or maybe that was just part of your façade."

Rachel frowned, tilting her head to the side slightly, trying to analyze Quinn's motive. Catching a flash of worry followed by annoyance in the blonde's face, the singer's eyes widened in understanding. "Thank you for the concern, Quinn. I haven't lost my self-worth; however, I don't wish to waste my breath defending myself against a man with a protégé complex concerning my offender."

Mr. Shuester frowned. "Now Rachel, don't try to blame your punishment on nonexistent circumstances."

"Hardly nonexistent." Santana mumbled.

"Mr. Shue, your denial of your blatant favoritism aside, we're wasting valuable rehearsal time. If you're going to be kicking me out, then allow me to leave so my teammates can begin practice for lunch tomorrow. I'll get the music and choreography from Britt and San tomorrow morning, so I'll be prepared for the performance.

"I guess the long speeches weren't part of her other persona only." Mercedes stage whispered to Kurt.

Will blinked, still processing the girl's speech. Rachel rolled her eyes at her dumbfounded teacher.

"I'm going to take your silence as a dismissal." The brunette, slinging her bag over her shoulder, calmly exited the room. Shaking his head with a disapproving look at the door, Will turned back to the group. "Alright guys, let's get started on 'Empire State of Mind'. Finn, why don't you sort out the solo you'd like."

"No favoritism at all." Puck spoke sarcastically. Everyone rolled their eyes, agreeing with the Mohawk sporting teen.

…

The sound of fists and feet hitting a punching bag was the only sign of life in the, otherwise still, house. The brunette moved lightly on the balls of her feet, taped hands and feet slamming into the hanging bag over and over again. The headphones she had in were blasting a playlist of angry music, containing everything from 'Fuck You' by Lily Allen, to 'TKO' by Le Tigre to 'Chop Suey' by System of a Down and everything in between. Rachel's skin glistened with sweat, drops flowing down her face.

Slowly, she began building the power behind each blow. Each succeeding punch was a little harder, each kick a little sharper. Finally, rearing her hand back, she put as much force as she could into her last punch. Straight into where she was picturing Finn Hudson's face to be.

She collapsed onto her back, stretching out. That's when the tears came, running silently down her cheeks, adding hardly a sound to the nearly empty, lonely house.

…

**pedazo de mierda = piece of shit**

**ANGST! I like me my angst. And now the cat is part way outta the bag in regards to one half of Faberry!**

**And my hate for Finn Hudson rears its head once again… And a bit of a distaste for William Shuester as well. *shrug* what can ya do, ya know?**

**I realize this isn't exactly long… But it's midnight, I just performed two shows over the course of yesterday, and I'm performing two tomorrow. I'm lucky (or not so lucky, damn insomnia) to have been able to post this before collapsing.**

**Please review!**


	7. Coping Mechanism

**Longish update! Longish as in longer than most, if not all, of the chapters in this fic so far.**

**Warning, a bit of angst ahead.**

**A/N1: Don't own Glee, nor any music mentioned. If I did... too many things would be different for me to be able to list in this moment.**

**A/N2: I have no beta, hence, all mistakes are my own.**

**Let's on with the show, shall we?**

...

When Puck received a text from his Jewish American Princess after Glee ended, telling him that she didn't need a ride the next morning, he'd frowned slightly, but didn't argue. He knew that Rachel probably needed some time to herself after what had happened. He wanted to punch Finn so badly for what he'd said, and Mr. Shue for defending the boy.

After deciding to work off some anger at the gym, the mowhawked man texted Rachel back saying a quick "ok", before leaving the school.

...

Santana and Brittany were worried when, later that evening, calling Rachel only resulted in being sent straight to voicemail.

At Brittany's insistence, and Santana's silent agreement, they drove over to their friend's house, determined to check in on the girl. No lights were on that they could see, and the house was silent. Stepping up to ring the doorbell, they were stopped by an 'x' posted in black duct tape on the front door. They knew it was a symbol Rachel used when she wanted to be left alone.

Knowing the brunette would contact them when she was ready, the two girls turned around. With linked pinkies, they drove off, headed to Breadstix.

...

Quinn stared at her phone, frustrated at her inability to send a simple text. Well, simple words, not so simple a matter. Finally, with a mental shake, the blonde pressed a thumb down onto 'send'.

We need to talk. Lima Bean, Friday after school?

An hour passed before she got a reply.

Alright, my treat.

...

Garret saw a shadow falling over the entrance table. Looking up to welcome the new comer or greet a regular, he blinked in mild surprise. His expression changed to understanding as he took in the emotionless chocolate eyes.

"Star, this is a surprise. We usually only see you four on the weekends."

Rachel gave a strained smirk. "Well, it's just me tonight. Traditional club night, yeah?"

"Mhm, that's right."

"Perfect. Set me up for as many matches as you'll allow me, alright?"

"Star…"

"Garret, don't. And it's Rae tonight."

Garret sighed, "Alright, you've got three matches."

Rachel nodded, crossing to the ring.

…

Most heads belonging to the McKinley High population turned to follow the black MTT Gas Turbine Superbike sliding into the parking lot. The driver slid off the motorcycle, not removing their helmet, black steel-toed biker boots slamming onto the pavement. Boot-cut, black jeans covered long legs. A crimson hoodie with black swirl patterns was open part way to reveal a tight black muscle shirt, emphasizing ample cleavage. Lastly, black fingerless gloves with gold and silver markings covered the biker's hands.

Ignoring the people around her, the girl walked into the school. Stopping by her locker, she slipped off her helmet and placed it in her locker, allowing chocolate locks to cascade over strong shoulders. Before she turned around, the brunette pulled a pair of Aviators from her bag, slipping them on. Still with no sign of noticing any of the people around her, Rachel walked silently to her first hour class.

The girl's three best friends shared looks of concern. They had only ever seen their friend this closed off a very few times.

The first time had been when the girl had realized that her dads' 'business trips' were going to permanently become a regular occurrence. Rachel had locked herself in the basement of her house for nearly a week. Puck and Santana knocked in the door after five days, only to find the girl huddled in the gym section of her room, bruises and cuts littering her knuckles, with a broken punching bag and a smashed mirror.

The second time was extremely painful for Puck to recall. It was when Rachel found out that Quinn was pregnant with his child. She would stare right through him and had blocked him from her phone. Calls went unanswered and attempts at face-to-face confrontation had resulted in more than a few black-eyes and bruises on the boy's part. It had taken months for Rachel to let him back in, and he vowed never to hurt his Jewbro ever again.

Brittany, Puck and Santana wondered how long Rachel would shut off this time, and what she would do during the solitude. They had no idea that the singer's clothing and sunglasses covered a myriad of bruises and cuts inflicted during the three fight matches she'd participated in during the early hours of the morning. The other members of the club had watched as the girl hardly gave a reaction to every blow she received, which were numerous, despite the fact that she won all three matches. Make-up could only do so much, and Rachel wasn't quite as adept as Brittany at cover up, so most of the marks were left uncovered except by what she was wearing.

…

The rest of the week passed by quickly. Their performance of 'Empire State of Mind' went off without a hitch, though it only garnered them one tryout, by a boy named Sam Evans.

Rachel was still distant, and silent. She sat at the back of each class, silently taking notes. Even in Glee she made no comments, any reactions were hidden behind her Aviators.

When Will dismissed the group on Friday, the brunette stayed seated, waiting till everyone, including the coach, had left. Once the room was empty, she stood slowly, wincing as weight was put on her right leg. Garrett had basically banned her from the club early that morning, until she healed properly. Limping slowly down the risers and out of the room, Rachel began humming to herself and then singing quietly.

_"Don't you know? You're out co-old._

_Don't you know? It's our dance-floor!_

_T.K.O. Hear it on the radio._

_T.K.O. Play it on the stereo._

_T.K.O. Watch a live video._

_T.K.O._

_T.K.O-O_

_Oh, oh.._

_Oh, oh.."_

...

Quinn sat down across from her companion, taking a sip of the iced chai they had payed for. "No offense, but I'd never expect you to offer to pay for anything you didn't have to."

Puck shrugged. "Rachel's good manners have rubbed off on me, I guess."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, among other things. You, Rachel, Santana and Brittany. When did that friendship happen? I mean, last year you threw slushies in her face and Santana and Brittany were jeering at her along with the rest of us. And also, what the hell happened to her clothing? Did you three make her do that?

The boy chuckled. "The four of us have been friends since about eighth grade, though, Rae and I have been friends since we met in temple at age five. As for her clothes..." He frowned. "She was slushied at first for having two dads, so she didn't really want to have to buy nice new clothes. Why wear something you know'll get ruined, ya know? That's how her whole 'school girl' persona began too. If she was gonna be treated like crap without people knowing who she was, why should they get the chance to know her anyways. So she told me and the girls her plan, and she made us promise to keep our friendship under-wraps."

Quinn winced. "That's my fault, isn't it?"

Puck shook his head. "Nah, it started way back. I mean, you didn't help, but you weren't the beginning source."

"So, why the sudden change?"

He shrugged. "This is Rachel Berry we're talking about. I've learned to not try and predict her moves. For all I know, she was bored." Quinn let out a snort of a laugh. "Anyways, any other questions about my Jewbro?"

The blonde sobered. "Yes, actually. What's up with her dads and the whole Finn thing, and her l-liking me? Also, what's up with her this week? She's been quieter than that time she had laryngitis."

Puck blinked. "Okay, what was the first question?

"Her dads."

"They're assholes." He stated bluntly, frown returning. "They left her in the care of a nanny until she was twelve, and she's been basically living alone since then. They have super important jobs that have them constantly on business trips or something. Finn bringing that up was pouring salt on a permanent wound; he deserves worse than she gave him."

"So, all those comments about her loving, amazing dads?"

"Part of her persona, and I think partly to cover up how hurt she has been by their constant abandonment."

"Wow." Quinn sat back.

"Yeah."

"And Finn?"

"Partly part of the persona. And she told us the other reason she went after him."

"To break us up."

"To get you single, so she didn't have to watch you guys sucking face and could keep her jealousy of him in check. You don't know how many times me, San and Britt have had to hold her back from punching him in the face for being all over you."

"So she wasn't just saying that to rile him up?"

"Hell no! She's had a crush on you since freshman year."

"Wait, then how the hell did you and her stay friends after last..." She trailed off, swallowing down the pain at the thought of last year.

Puck's shoulder's slumped. "We weren't for a while. She shut me out for the longest time. I made it worse by not telling her I was actually the dad. I was such an asshole. She cried on my shoulder over Finn and you having a kid and having no chance. When she found out the truth... Let's just say that the silent treatment she gave me was worse than a repeated knife to the gut. It took months to earn her friendship back." He looked her dead in the eye. "I don't regret Beth, I never could. But I regret everything else. I'm sorry, Quinn. You don't understand how sorry I am for what I did. Not using protection, getting you drunk and taking advantage in the first place. Breaking Rachel's trust. All of it."

Quinn blinked back tears, wondering where this man had been last year. Placing a hand on his forearm, she gave it a forgiving squeeze. The moment ended as they both broke away, taking sips of their drinks.

"To answer your last question, Rachel's quiet because that's what she does when she's truly depressed, sad or overly emotional. She shuts down. She did it when she realized her dads didn't care, when she found out you were pregnant, when Jesse egged her. She lets no one in. Not even me, Santana or Britt. None of us really knows what she does, but we give her space. She always opens back up, it just takes some time for her to work through her stuff." He took a glance at his phone. "Shit. I gotta go babysit my little sis." He stood up, then looked back at the mother of his child and the woman of his best friend's dreams. "Q, I told you all this because you're my baby's mama. But understand, if you ever use this against my Jewbabe, Satan and Britt have nothing holding them back from hurting you. And I don't think either I or Rae could stop them." He sighed one last time. "And she really likes you, and honestly, I think you like her too." With that last comment, he walked out of the Lima Bean. Quinn was left to, once again, process everything she had been told.

...

**Sooooo... A bit of angst, a bit of explanation and a bit of Quick friendship-y stuff.**

**What do ya think?**

**The song Rachel sings a bit of is: 'TKO' by Le Tigre**

**Reviews make my day!**


	8. Discoveries and Dislocations

**I am a horrible, awful, lazy, procrastinating ass. I started this chapter over a week ago. It took me frickin' forever to finish. I'm sorry... Also, FFNet took down one of my fics for having an 'inappropriate word' in the title. So I couldn't post for a bit anyway. Stupid new guidelines are so constricting...**

**Okay, I have a couple things I need to say involving this fic.**

**This is dedicated to 'caseyrn12' for the idea for this chapter and kinda where to take the fic.**

**Warning: Lots more fighting, in more detail.**

**A/N1: I don't own Glee. Or the concept of rules for Fight Club.**

**A/N2: I have no Beta (though I do have a tendency to talk to 'thatdamnyank' who is great at pushing me to update, as well as a great author herself), hence, all mistakes are my own.**

**...**

Quinn sat outside of the Berry household, fingers tapping against the steering wheel of her cherry red convertible. She had been parked there for the last twenty minutes, trying to work up the courage to walk up and ring the doorbell. It was 9pm on the Tuesday after her conversation with Noah Puckerman, and Rachel still showed no signs of leaving her bubble of silence.

Growling at herself in frustration, Quinn shoved her door open and climbed out. Stalking up to the door, reaching a finger out to jab at the doorbell, she paused. Two strips of duct tape, forming a black 'x', was posted in the middle of the door. Slightly confused, the cheerleader decided to dwell on what the 'x' meant later. Pressing the doorbell, she pulled back, leaning against the porch pillar, arms wrapped around her stomach loosely. Her patience lasted a minute before she pressed the bell again, then another time after thirty seconds. Finally deciding that the singer wasn't there, Quinn turned to leave, preparing to confront the brunette tomorrow at school. The sound of the door being pulled open caused her to whirl around.

Rachel stood, leaning against the doorway, dressed in black sweatpants, a black sports bra and dark green zip-up hoodie. Her feet were bare, Aviators rested on her face, as they had for the last week, and dark brown curls were up in a messy ponytail. Crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel raised an eyebrow in silent question of the blonde's appearance on her doorstep.

"Can I help you, Quinn?" Rachel's voice was slightly hoarse from lack of use, she hadn't said more than a few sentences in the last week. Quinn remained silent, eyes trailing over the girl in front of her. She paused as Rachel shifted, revealing a dark bruise on the left side of the brunette's collarbone.

"What happened?" She asked, reaching out to the mark, stopping abruptly before she touched it and pulling back.

Rachel sighed, pulling her sweatshirt back over the bruise. "Nothing, Quinn. I was a bit clumsy this afternoon and smacked into my locker door as I opened it. May I ask why you are at my house?"

Quinn ducked her head, looking away from Rachel. "I-" she paused, sighing. She looked back at the singer, "I was worried about you. Ever since Finn was a douche last week, you've been all quiet and... un-Rachel Berry like. And, I get that Rachel Berry isn't who I thought she was for the last two years; but, I find it hard to believe that she is this silent, closed off, shadow of her former persona. Not after the," she blushed slightly, glancing down at her feet, "flirtatious, badass I saw last Monday, who kicked Finnocence ass. Also," she paused again, locking eyes with Rachel. "I think we need to talk about what you told Finn. The whole 'you liking me' thing."

"Wow, that was almost a 'schoolgirl Rachel Berry' worthy ramble, Quinn." The blonde's blush deepened, but she didn't look away. Rachel sighed again, uncrossing her arms. "Quinn, while I am honored that you were concerned enough to come check on me, and I do agree that we should talk about what was spoken of last Monday, I must ask that we hold this conversation at a different time, perhaps tomorrow after school? I have a previous engagement a few hours from now and need to prepare."

"A previous engagement held in the middle of the night?" Quinn's eyebrow rose.

"Yes. I realize that may seem like an odd time, but it is something I need to do. So, are you free tomorrow after school?"

Quinn's quirked eyebrow didn't lower, but she suppressed the urge to question Rachel further about her late night event. "Yeah, Cheerios practice is in the morning, so my afternoon should be free."

"Perfect, would you care to come over to my house, or would you rather we go to your place?"

"Your house is fine."

"Alright, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Quinn. Good evening." As Rachel moved to shut the door, her sunglasses slipped down slightly, quickly pushed back into place by the brunette, with a small wince.

Quinn's steps back to her car were heavy, her mind racing. When Rachel's glasses had slipped, Quinn had caught sight of a black-eye ringing the girl's left eye, yellow-purple standing out from, otherwise, tan skin.

Had that been another bout of clumsiness on the brunette's part, or was there something more behind the marks? That question, along with a thousand others, were running on repeat through Quinn's brain. 'Did the bruises have anything to do with Rachel's late night appointment?' was another one of the questions.

Without realizing it, the blonde had gotten into her car and pulled out of Rachel's driveway. Slamming to a halt at the end of the block, Quinn felt anger flood her as the possibility that someone had laid a hand on Rachel filled her mind. Coming to a decision, she continued to her house, creating a mental list of what she would need to pack for a night of staking out Rachel's rendezvous.

...

Two and a half hours later found the cheerleader parked at the end of Rachel's block, this time in her mother's dark blue Honda Civic. She had been in the same spot for the last hour, waiting for Rachel to leave. Just as Quinn began to nod off, the purr of an engine caused her head to shootup. A purple motorcycle with black and blue flames pulled out of Rachel's driveway, with a green hoodied, driver. Luckily for Quinn, there was still traffic on the road that night, or else she might've been spotted tailing the motorcycle. After watching the girl pull into the parking lot of a large warehouse and enter the building, Quinn parked in the corner of the lot, away from the other vehicles. Slipping into the warehouse, she couldn't hold back a gasp as she took in the group of men and women surrounding an open space of concrete flooring several yards away from a boxing ring. In the open space stood a barrel chested man, with an eyepatch, who appeared to be about to give a speech. Stepping nearer to the group, her eyes came to settle on Rachel, who stood near the back of the group. Without her Aviators on, her bruise shown, along with a scabbed cut running across the middle of the opposite eyebrow.

Pulling her eyes away from Rachel, she turned to watch the one-eyed man, who had begun speaking.

"...the first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.

The second rule of Fight Club is: You do _not_ talk about Fight Club."

Quinn's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"The third rule of Fight Club: If someone says 'stop' or goes limp, taps out, the fight is over."

A handful of weekends from when she'd lived in the Puckerman household came flooding to the front of her mind.

_The front door creaked open, allowing Puck to slip into the house. His lip was bloody and a bruise was forming across his cheek._

_"What the hell happened to you?" The blonde had questioned, anger masking the worry she felt._

_"Can't talk about it." He'd grunted out, entering his room. Half an hour later he emerged, dressed for school, with a book in his hand. "Here. Just, don't ask again." He thrust the book into her hand, before heading to his pick-up so he could drive them to school._

_Glancing at the book, she quirked an eyebrow at the title. **'Fight Club'**_

"The fourth rule of Fight Club: Only two guys to a fight.

The fifth rule: One fight at a time.

The sixth rule: No shirts, no shoes.

Rule seven: Fights will go on as long as they need to."

Quinn couldn't believe that she was here, at an actual Fight Club. Even more unbelievable was the fact that Rachel was there, and was clearly not a newcomer.

"The eighth rule of Fight Club: If this is your first night at Fight Club, you _have_ to fight."

Quinn's eyes widened. She'd forgotten that rule. Backing away, she hid in a shadowed edge of the room, hoping she would be able to slip out the door without being noticed, and escape being pushed to fight anyone in the room.

"Now, which two of you are up first?" Two fists rose in the air quickly. "Thomas, Steven." The man gestured to the two men, one who Quinn recognized as a senior football player at McKinley. "Ready?" Receiving nods from both of the fighters, he stepped back into the ring of contenders. A tense silence fell over the group, until a fist slammed into the football player, Steven's, face, causing blood to spray from his lip. All hell broke loose as Steven turned back, slamming his knee into his opponent's gut, followed by a fist to the temple, knocking the man into the ground. Steven took the opportunity to straddle his opponent, repeatedly punching Thomas in the face, turning his face into a patchwork of red and purple, one eye swelling shut. A foot twisted back and slammed the senior in the side, sending him crashing to the ground and turning the tides of the match. Now Steven was on the receiving end of a rain of blows to the stomach and face. Thomas then stood, slamming a foot into his opponents side repeatedly, until a groan and the sound of a hand smacking the ground twice was heard. Thomas was then pulled away from the boy by the people surrounding them, while Rachel and another girl helped pull Steven to his feet. Spitting out what looked like a bloody tooth, Steven offered a hand to the other man, who shook it and pulled him into a short hug.

Quinn had done little more than stare, wide-eyed, during the match, flinching a few times at some of the sounds made by landed blows. The hug at the end made her eyebrow raise, a thought of 'boys can be so stupidly testosterone controlled' floating to the front of her mind. That quickly disappeared when she heard the next two fighters called into the ring.

"Okay, Rae, Taurean, you two are next."

As Rachel and her opponent stepped into the ring, Quinn's eyes went wide. The man Rachel was facing off against was easily a foot taller than her and built like a brick wall. Muscles rippled in his arms and legs, an eight-pack sharply defining his abdomen. His biceps were as big as the short brunette's head, and a handsome face showed no signs that he was going to go easy on the girl. In fact, a menacing half smirk grew on Taurean's face as he eyed Rachel, turning lecherous as the singer removed her hoodie, leaving only a black sports bra and pants. Quinn couldn't suppress a sympathetic hiss as she spotted still more bruises splashed across Rachel's torso.

"Ready?" The announcer asked. He received a sharp nod from Rachel and a grunt from Taurean. With one weary glance over the brunette, whose skin seemed to be more purple than tan at the moment, the man stepped out of the ring, leaving the two fighters facing each other. Then Quinn watched as all hell broke loose between them.

A large fist flew forward, only to be nimbly dodged and a retaliating kick landed in the man's side, causing him to stumble off balance slightly. He quickly recovered, lunging forward and latching onto the girl's collarbone, thumbs placing heavy pressure into the fleshy area just above the bone. Latching onto the thumbs, Rachel forced the pressure away, as she staggered back out of her opponent's grip. As she moved, Taurean's foot hooked behind her left leg, sending her sprawling onto her back and knocking the air from her lungs. Flinging herself upright, Rachel struggled to regain her breath, her one second out of focus giving the man enough time to lung and tackle the brunette back into the ground, head bouncing off the floor with a small groan.

Quinn made to step forward, eyes wide in horror at the beating Rachel was receiving; however, before she made it more than a step, Rachel's knee had connected with her opponent's gut, slinging him off of her, onto his own back. Rolling forward onto her knees, Rachel latched onto his calf and wrenched it sideways, drawing a grunt of pain from the man. Continuing to twist, Rachel missed the movement of his hand, before the backhand across her face sent her sprawling next to her opponent. Latching onto her wrist, Taurean flipped the girl onto her stomach, wrenching her arm up behind her back, twisted at an unnatural angle. Rachel struggled against the painful hold, thrashing wildly in an attempt to break his grip. The man's hand merely tightened around her wrist, his other arm wrapping around the captive arm and pulling slightly, until a sickening popping noise, followed by a closed-lip scream, was heard. He dropped Rachel's arm, which flopped to the ground uselessly. Rising, thinking the match was over, Taurean backed up, arms crossed. Shaking her head, Rachel pressed her uninjured arm into the ground, pushing herself to her feet.

_Dammit, Rachel. Tap out. Say stop. Anything! He's gonna kill you._ Quinn thought screamed at the girl.

As if hearing her thoughts, Rachel glanced towards where Quinn was hiding. Eyes widening slightly, she froze. Taking advantage, Taurean landed a blow to the girl's injured shoulder, sending her crashing into the human barrier, tears of pain streaming down her face.

"Rae, stop this." Garret whispered.

Rachel simply shook her head stubbornly, slowly stepping forward again. Her opponent grunted in frustration.

"Don't you ever give up, girly." His voice was a low, thick Irish brogue.

Rachel spit some blood out from her slip lip and smirked. "I'm kinda stubborn." She answered with a shrug.

Taurean shook his head. Charging forward, he missed Rachel dodging to the side, her foot sticking out. Tripping over the limb, sent the man crashing, face first, into the ground. Groaning, he rolled over, and Rachel took advantage, straddling his waist and landing several blows to the man's face with her good arm. After the seventh blow, the sound of heavy tapping to the ground sounded. Pulling away instantly, Rachel offered her hand to the man.

"Jesus, girl. You pack a powerful punch." The man spoke through a clogged, bloody nose and gums.

Rachel shook Taurean's hand, before stumbling away from the group. Once she broke through the human wall, she started towards Quinn. Collapsing to her knees from pain and exhaustion when she reached her. Dropping to her own knees, Quinn locked eyes with the brunette, hesitantly reaching towards the injured arm.

"Coach taught us how to check injuries." Rachel nodded in consent. Touching the arm lightly, Rachel still gave a hiss, Quinn winced in sympathy. "Looks like the giant popped your shoulder out of place. That needs hospital attention, Rach. Let me get you there."

"Quinn, you have school, I can drive myself. Besides, no way in hell am I leaving my Kawasaki Ninja bike here. It's an important piece of my motorcycle collection. I'm not risking it being stolen, and I hardly trust anyone driving it."

"Rachel, your shoulder is dislocated, you _cannot_ drive a motorcycle in this state. Couldn't you get Puck or someone to pick it up?"

Rachel sighed. "I didn't want to get him, San or Britt involved in this."

Quinn looked at the girl incredulously. "Are you saying none of them know about you being part of a Fight Club?"

Rachel snorted. "Of course they do. They just don't know that I've been going nearly every night for the last week, by myself. We normally go to weekend tournaments that happen every other week." She glanced around. "Speaking of Fight Club, I need to get you out of here before Garret notices you and evokes Rule Eight. Plus you have some explaining to do." Grabbing the blonde's hand, Rachel pulled them both to their feet, quickly tugging the girl out into the parking lot and towards her bike.

"Rachel."

"I'm texting Noah, gimme a second." Rachel replied to the warning in Quinn's voice, pulling out her cellphone. She typed out a message, a little slower than usual due to only being able to use one hand, and pressed send. "Happy?"

"I'll be happier when you're at the doctors getting your arm and body looked at." Quinn replied, pulling Rachel towards her car.

"Quinn! They'll ask questions I can't answer." The brunette whined.

"Too bad. You're the idiot who fought a guy five times your size!"

"I've fought worse. You shoulda seen me the last time I _lost_ a match."

"That isn't comforting in the least."

"Sorry."

Pushing Rachel into the car, Quinn pulled out, headed to Lima Memorial.

**...**

**So... Apparently I enjoy injuring Rachel... Or at least have an attraction to it. I mean, 'Changed Directions', 'Gleeful Rent' and 'Fight Club'... Geesh. I apologize. I don't actually LIKE a hurt Rachel. It just fits in my fics. I love making Rachel a badass fighter and all.**

**By the by,**

**Taurean means Strong as a Bull, it's an American name. I thought it fitting.**

**What do you think? Please, I'd love some constructive critiques in regards to the fighting. I don't really know if I'm describing it at all well... Read and review!**

**Thankies.**


	9. Hospital Trips and Slushy Baths

**So… I know. I suck. Taking me forever to update. And guess what, I start college tomorrow… Yeah, that means I'll be busy with that too… But… I will try and get some updates up… I really will.**

**A/N: Don't own Glee.**

**A/N2: Don't have a Beta.**

**Enjoy?**

**EDIT: Thank you to _Frost47_ for editing my terrible Spanish grammar; and to both _Frost47 _and _Nightlancer600 _for offering to help me with Spanish in the future... Which I am so grateful for.**

* * *

><p>"Well Ms. Berry, it appears that, along with a dislocated left shoulder and severe bruising, you also have a cracked rib and a small fracture in your right tibia. Luckily, the rib didn't splinter, so you'll just have to be careful about straining yourself for a few weeks as it heals. Your ankle and arm will need a cast and brace respectively, and we can set up an appointment to have all three injuries assessed in about a month. We attempted to contact your fathers, but were unsuccessful."<p>

"They're away on vacation for a bit." Rachel said. "I'll be sure to contact them when I get home."

The doctor nodded. "If you would like to report your attack to the poli-"

"No." Rachel cut him off, rapidly shaking her head. "I'd rather just put the moment behind me."

"Alright, if you're sure. Let me take you back to get the cast and brace."

* * *

><p>Quinn watched with concern as Rachel half hobbled out into the waiting room, her arm in a sling and with a dark red cast on her right foot.<p>

"Jesus Christ, Rachel, he really did a number on you."

"Yeah, that tends to happen when you're jumped for money while out on a walk." Rachel spoke, eyes pleading with the blonde to play along with the story. "I'm lucky it wasn't worse."

"Well, Ms. Berry, I will leave you here with your friend. See you in a month for your check-up."

"Thank you Dr. Henry." Rachel smiled at the older, blonde man. As he turned to walk away, the smile dropped. Sighing, she faced the girl next to her, taking in the raised eyebrow and pursed lips, which told her that the other girl was not impressed with her.

"Jumped for money? Really, Berry?"

"It was the best I could come up with!" Rachel hissed back, walking towards the hospital parking lot. "I couldn't just say, 'oh, I got the shit beaten outta me facing off against a guy in my Fight Club. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be arrested again anytime soon."

"_Again_?" Rachel winced.

"Smooth, Rae." Both girls' heads shot up, taking in the Latina leaning against Quinn's car.

"Ray-Ray!" Pale arms wrapped around Rachel from behind, lifting the singer off the ground in a tight hug.

"Ribs, Britt." Rachel gasped. The dancer lowered her to the ground gently. Turning to her, Rachel tugged the girl into a light hug with her uninjured arm. Pulling away, she received a wack to the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Esto es por ser una imbécil y preocuparme a mi, a Britt y a Puckerman. No puedo creer que dejes que Finnocence te afecte de esta manera. Tus padres no valen la pena para esto-"

"Santana," Rachel cut her friend off, "por favor. Ahora no. Siento haberte preocupado. Necesitaba... Lo siento."

"Fight someone like Taurean after a week of fights again and I'll make you sorry." That part was mumbled into Rachel's hair, as Santana lunged forward to pull Rachel into a hug, careful of the girl's ribs and arm.

Rachel pulled back. "How do you-"

"Steven was leaving just as Puck, Britt and I pulled up to get your bike. Asked if you were okay. You know he can't keep a secret to save his life. He's the reason everyone knew about Allie's… appreciation for being tied up." Rachel snorted a laugh. "Anyways, Puck's dropping your bike at home; he didn't take hearing about this well, Rae."

Rachel dropped her eyes to the floor. She knew Noah would take finding out about her nightly rendezvous the worst, especially the fact that she hadn't confided in him.

"Well," Quinn cleared her throat, bringing Rachel out of her thoughts. "We had better get to school."

"Or we could just skip. We've already missed first period." Rachel offered, hoping to avoid her fellow Jew and the gossip-mongers that were her classmates.

"You can't avoid everyone forever, Ray." Brittany placed her arm around the short brunette's shoulders.

"Britt's right, Rae. You might as well get it over with."

Rachel sighed, nodding at the truth behind their words. Quinn wrapped a hand around her upper arm, leading her towards her car, which she'd swapped with her mother's on the way to the hospital.

"There goes hoping for an inconspicuous arrival." Rachel mumbled, knowing that the bright red car always drew attention from any students gathered in the school parking lot each morning.

"Think of it as punishment for being stupid and getting hurt." Quinn retorted. "And don't think that I've forgotten about the whole 'arrested again' thing. You have some explaining to do, Berry." Rachel groaned, but obediently slipped into the passenger seat.

"Fine. Here's how it happened…"

* * *

><p>"You tipped a cow?" Quinn asked for the sixth time, as they pulled into a parking spot near the front doors of McKinley High School.<p>

"In my defense, Noah never specified what he meant by 'special brownies'. I was thirteen, and naïve."

"Still. You… Vegan, animal rights, tree hugging, Rachel Berry. You. Tipped. A. Cow."

"Only because I was stoned!" Rachel's good arm waved erratically for emphasis. Several students stopped to stare at the brunette. "What?" She snapped at them, causing the onlookers to hurry away. "I thought Puck meant they were vegan when he said he had brought 'special brownies'." Quinn burst out laughing, causing Rachel's lip to jut out in a pout. Huffing, she turned and hobbled towards her locker, Quinn following, still chuckling.

The cheerleader bumped into Rachel's back, as the brunette froze abruptly. "Rachel?" The girl didn't respond, but Quinn saw her jaw clench and her hand tighten into fists. Following the singer's line of vision, Quinn sucked in a breath sharply. '**DYKE'** was spray-painted diagonally across Rachel's locker door, surrounded by several other derogatory terms that Quinn didn't even want to say in her head. Then, the girls were surrounded by Karofsky, Asimio, Finn and another varsity jacket wearing boy, who Quinn thought was named Josh. Each held two Big Gulp slushy cups in their hands.

"Ready for a shower, lesbo?" Asimio asked.

"Let Quinn get out of here." Rachel hissed through clenched teeth. "She has nothing to do with this." The boys sneered, but Finn and Karofsky parted to let the girl through. "Quinn, go."

"What? No! Rachel-"

"Now, Quinn." She gently shoved the girl out of the circle, which quickly closed, blocking out the cheerleader. Snapping her eyes shut, Rachel shuddered as she was doused in eight different colors of slushy.

"I've been wanting to do this since school started." Karofsky stated, all four boys laughing and nodding in agreement. High-fiving each other, they sauntered away, leaving the brunette shivering in a puddle, slowly reigning in her anger, so she wouldn't attempted to beat the four jocks, injuries be damned. Wiping the ice out of her eyes, she stepped towards her locker, which was still stocked with changes of clothing, luckily. She stiffened, as she, once more, caught sight of the spray paint adorning her locker door. Deciding to ignore it for now, she wrenched open the door, grabbing her clothing and stalking towards the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Quinn had watched with horror, as Rachel was showered in slushy. She was also tinged with guilt, as she thought about the many slushies she'd ordered to be dumped on the singer in the past. Shaking out of her thoughts, she shot off a text, before following the shivering girl into the bathroom.<p>

**SOS, get to the first floor girls bathroom NOW**

* * *

><p><strong>TRANSLATIONS:<strong>

******Esto es por ser una imbécil y preocuparme a mi, a Britt y a Puckerman. No puedo creer que dejes que Finnocence te afecte de esta manera. Tus padres no valen la pena para esto- == That's for being an idiot and worrying me, Britt and Puckerman. I can't believe you let Finnocence get to you like this. Your parents aren't worth this-**

**Santana, por favor. Ahora no. Siento haberte preocupado. Necesitaba... Lo siento.**

**...**

**Woo! Who wants those jocks to get their asses kicked? I know I do. Heh.**

**Review please?**


	10. Flirting and Fighting Sort of

Alright... I really have no excuses. I'm sorry I dropped off the Earth. I'm sorry I disappeared and left you all hanging. I'm sorry it's taken me forever to write up this chapter and it isn't even very long or very good. I'm going to try and continue this story to the best of my abilities, but my muse seems to have flown out a window and not looked back. *sigh*

But beyond my frustrated and depressed rambling, thank you to everyone who has continued to read this fic and to everyone who has messaged me or reviewed for more and to everyone who hasn't given up on me. It seriously means a lot that you all like my fic enough to stick with it, even after months and months of nothing. So I'll just place the usual authors note and let you get on with it.

**AN: I don't own Glee, I don't own any of the songs mentioned, I just own my AU universe of the show.**

* * *

><p>Quinn watched from her position leaning against the sink – which she'd been extradited to after attempting to assist Rachel in her clean up and being pointedly told to "let her handle it" - as Puck crashed through the door into the girls' bathroom, followed almost immediately by Santana and Brittany. Catching sight of the shivering brunette attempting to wash multiple colors of slushy out of her hair in the sink with one arm, they stiffened.<p>

"Who?" Puck growled.

"Doesn't matter, Noah."

"Karofsky, Asimio, some freshman named Josh," she paused to take a breath, hissing out the last person, "and Finn."

"Quinn!"

"They're dead." The trio sprinted out of the room, leaving Rachel to sigh and continue cleaning herself off.

Quinn stepped up beside her once again. "Let me help, please."

Rachel simply shook her head once again, knowing the endeavor would be useless, even with help. "I need a shower. Walk with me to the girls' locker room?" Quinn nodded, following the brunette out of the bathroom and down the hallway, towards the locker room.

Entering the always slightly humid room, Rachel reached up with her good arm, ignoring the discomfort her opposite shoulder gave her from the stretch and unclipped the strap holding her sling in place. As she started to slip it off, a strong pale hand came up to help support her elbow and pull the material away gently. Once the sling was out of the way, Quinn slowly lowered Rachel's forearm, so as not to cause any more stress on the injury, before stepping completely in front of her and starting to unbutton the singer's shirt without really thinking about it. She'd helped other girls with similar injuries, Coach Sylvester didn't even let injuries stop her Cheerios from attending practice, though she had them sit on the sidelines just so she could berate them throughout it.

"Quinn," Rachel almost squeaked out, swallowing thickly and feeling her face start to burn slightly with a fiery blush. "I think I can get my own clothes off."

Pausing in her work after the last button was popped free, the blonde pulled back, flushing slightly as the shirt fell open, revealing the bruised, but still completely smooth skin and taunt abs it had been hiding. Clearing her throat, she took a step back, turning her head so she wouldn't be tempted to continue staring and fighting her own rising blush.

"Right, uh… sorry." The cheer captain mumbled, catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

Recovering from her momentary lapse in composure, mostly due to the fact that she'd fantasized far too many times about Quinn stripping her (for entirely different reasons), Rachel felt a small smirk quirk up one side of her mouth at the other girl's reaction. "No need to apologize, Q." She replied softly. "It's not like I really mind having your hands on my body, it's just," she hesitated, unsure of how much might be too much to say and end up pushing the cheerleader away. Shaking her head with a silent 'fuck it,' she continued. "I don't think you realize how much control it's taking me to not just kiss you right now."

Quinn's jaw dropped slightly at the bold words, eyes locked on the serious, though slightly amused chocolate pair in front of her. "I- I- I uh," she stammered, eyes lowering to glance at rosy, soft looking lips unintentionally. Watching the movement, Rachel arched a brow and slid her tongue out to run slowly along her bottom lip, almost teasingly. It caused the blonde's mouth to dry and a surge of heat to run through her body, making her quickly glance away, becoming fascinated with the lockers.

"Relax, blondie. I'm not going to jump you or anything. Unless you wanted me too," she mumbled the last part to herself, but obviously wasn't quite quiet enough, as a fiery blush spread down from the tips of Quinn's ears to her cheeks. Chuckling to herself, Rachel slipped off her shirt, letting it drop to the floor, not caring about how dirty it got, the slushy having soaked through and ruined it already. She tugged at her sports bra, hissing as it moved against her shoulder sharply. Glaring at her practically useless arm, she attempted to force it up, only to bite back another pained sound.

Hearing the small, suppressed noises coming from the smaller girl, Quinn's head whipped back around and a mixture of worry and sympathy passed over the cheerleader. Sighing quietly, she walked back over to the struggling teen and placed a hand on her arm lightly. "Thought you could get your clothes off yourself, eh?" She murmured, before carefully helping to maneuver the slush-wet, material off of her good side and then over and down her injured arm. She did her best to avert her gaze from the brunette's chest, cheeks burning an even brighter red.

"Stupid, useless piece of meat," Rachel muttered, continuing to glare at her arm as if her angry look would make it heal faster. She seemingly had no shame in being half naked in front of Quinn, making no attempt to cover up. Instead she reached her hand down to her jeans and popped the button, tugging down the zipper and shoving the material down her legs. She winced as she leaned over to remove them completely, leading the blonde to push her back upright and help tug off her shoes, socks, jeans and boy shorts, once more keeping her gaze averted from anything that wasn't appropriate. Offering a quiet, resigned thank you, Rachel walked to her locker and popped it open with a few twists of her wrist. Quinn took advantage of the other girl's turned back, letting her eyes trace unabashedly over the smooth, golden tan skin in front of her. It also had a few mottled bruises, which made the taller girl frown in concern, but her gaze only halted as she reached the curve of her ass, stopping herself from becoming a complete pervert. Glancing away, she folded her arms over her chest and moved to lean against the wall by the door.

"You can go, you know." Quinn's eyes shot to Rachel at the brunette's words, breath coming a bit easier as she noticed that the smaller girl had wrapped a towel around herself, making the view considerably less distracting. Her brow lowered once again as she registered the words spoken to her.

"What?"

"You can go," Rachel repeated, "if you want. I know you hate missing class. Santana and Brittany will come by once they're done beating up those four idiots, so long as they don't get expelled or suspended for doing so. They can help me get dressed after I shower, since I obviously really am invalided to an extent." She glared at her injured arm once more, before looking back up. "I'm really grateful that you helped me, but I'm okay now. So if you wanna leave, I'll see you in class later." Without waiting for a response, she disappeared into the shower area, the clicks of a stall opening and closing echoing in the spacious room.

Quinn blinked, Rachel's almost dismissal resounding in her head. It was true that the blonde hated missing any classes, mostly because she severely disliked being behind, as well as having to work doubly hard to make up for the missed time. With it being their junior year, everything was more important and she was in a lot of AP classes. Even so, she wasn't planning on leaving the diva badass to try and take care of herself; even if she was positive Brittany and Santana were going to come by, like the girl said. She settled down on a bench to wait, pulling her phone out and clicking open her Candy Crush app. She felt a smile spread across her face as she heard singing start up in the shower. It shrank however, at the tone of the music. It was definitely a rather angry performance, a fierce rendition of _One Step Closer_.

Ten minutes later, Rachel's words and Quinn's belief were confirmed, Brittany and Santana coming through the door, both with satisfied, though still angry expressions on their faces. The HBIC didn't miss the mottled bruises on her friends' knuckles and felt a small amount of satisfaction at the fact that the four assholes had gotten their due. They looked slightly surprised to see Quinn there, but didn't comment. Settling on either side of their fellow Cheerio, they looked towards the shower. Rachel had transferred from Linkin Park to Green Day, with _Platypus_. Surprisingly it was Santana that sighed and shook her head.

"A janitor is already trying to clean off her locker, but the spray paint is proving difficult." The Latina's words were quiet, conscious of the fact that the shower could shut off at any moment. Quinn knew it might take some time however, since Rachel's arm was giving her so much difficulty.

"Do we know if those same douchebags are the one that did it? And tell me they're at least investigating it. Rachel deserves some justice. Well, more than you three just gave her."

Santana arched a brow at Quinn, snorting incredulously, but it was Brittany who replied. "Please, like anything actually gets looked into in this place." Quinn was surprised at the bitterness in the words from the usually bubbly dancer. Her brow furrowed and she felt a growl build in the back of her throat. This was complete bullshit.

"I'm not surprised." Three heads shot up and looked towards the shower entrance, seeing Rachel leaning against the frame with her good shoulder, towel wrapped around her body and chocolate locks darker from water and dripping down her chest and shoulders. There was a blank, almost resigned expression on her face. "I see you two didn't get caught or suspended. I'm not going to even try to scold you for it, I know it won't do any good and I'd rather not waste my breath. Is Noah in class?" She wandered to her locker once again as she waited for the answer, returning the shower items and pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, along with underwear. Quinn stood to offer her help and Rachel made no protests this time, allowing her to help pull on the clothing, followed by the sling.

"No, he skipped in favor of the gym." Santana's reply sounded like she was almost envious, like she wanted to be there too, laying into a punching bag and imagining that it was Finn or one of the other three jocks' faces, making them look worse than they now did.

Rachel frowned, shaking her head. "He shouldn't miss classes this near to the start of the year," she muttered to herself. "I'll go talk to him."

"Is that wise? I mean you still haven't talked through your little Club secret."

"No Santana, maybe not, but it has to be done." Santana looked like she wanted to protest, but grudgingly kept her mouth shut. "You three should get to class." The sentence was phrased as a suggestion, but Rachel's tone was one that dared them to try and argue. "You need the grades in order to stay on the Cheerios and be considered for scholarships." None of the girls could refute that argument.

Standing up in unison, Brittany and Santana linked pinkies and let their eyes linger on Rachel for a minute. At her half shrug and nod, they left without a word.

"You too, Quinn."

The blonde stared at the other girl for a few moments, almost scrutinizing her. Rachel squirmed slightly under the look; feeling like it was stripping away the walls she was attempting to build up once again. "Thank you for protecting me," she finally said. "I didn't really deserve it, after everything I put you through." Shame colored her tone at that and Rachel was quick to reassure her.

"No, Quinn," she replied gently, hand coming to cup the Cheerio's face and tilting it up from where her eyes had dropped to the ground, making them lock eyes. "I forgave you for that the minute it happened. In some ways I deserved it, after all, I am the one who pursued Finn. Even if I had completely different motives for doing so than you thought, it was understandable for you to lash out." Leaning in, Rachel pressed a lingering kiss to the blonde's cheek, before pulling away and moving towards the door. "Now get to class, blondie. I've already caused you to miss enough for one day."

Quinn stared after the diva as she exited the room, a hand coming up to touch her cheek, feeling it burn slightly from the blush that had formed under Rachel's actions. Finally, she shook away her stupor and followed after the girl, turning the opposite way from where Rachel was headed, glancing over her shoulder once and seeing her disappear into the workout room, before moving towards her class.

* * *

><p>Rachel didn't look surprised as she found Noah laying into a punching bag, making the heavy container swing on its chain.<p>

"Hit it any harder and you'll have to pay to replace that thing." He ignored her words, except to lay into the bag even harder than before. "Noah, stop. You'll hurt yourself."

"You're one to talk," he grunted out, giving one last punch to the bag, before wrapping a tired arm around the bag and leaning against it. He glared half-heartedly at the girl, concern overpowering his anger.

Rachel sighed, dropping to sit on a workbench and wincing as the movement jostled her arm. "I'm sorry for worrying you," she mumbled quietly.

The mohawked boy snorted. "But not for doing it," he finished for her and she shrugged. It was the truth, she wasn't sorry for what she did. It was what she needed and in her mind the pros of it drowned out the cons. "Typical," Noah muttered. "You could've at least told me what was going on."

Rachel echoed his snort and stared straight at him. "Like you would've let me go through with it if you'd known." He couldn't refute the statement and settled for looking away, locking eyes on the wall. Sighing once again, she stared down at her hands. "What do you want me to say, Noah? I did what I had to do."

"Yeah yeah." He dropped down beside the girl, wrapping an arm around her waist, since he was wary of putting weight on her shoulders. She leaned into him, head resting on the boy's chest, not caring how sweaty he was. "Just… don't scare me like that again, please." The pleading in his tone gave away how truly worried he was about Rachel's wellbeing and made the brunette's heart clench. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak without her voice cracking. Both of them knew it wasn't a promise, shit happened and sometimes she just needed to pull stupid stunts to keep her sanity, but it was enough for him for the time being.

Standing, she offered her hand to the boy. "Come on, you need to go to class and so do I. We can't afford possible failure, we've got plans for the future, remember? That includes graduating."

He groaned in protest, but it was all a show. Taking Rachel's hand, he pulled himself to his feet and then let go, heading to the boys locker room. "Let me shower, I kind of smell." Chuckling, Rachel nodded in agreement, settling down to wait for her JewBro.

* * *

><p>So there you have it, chapter 10. Some definite Faberry tension and Puckleberry friendship of the closest caliber (though this doesn't necessarily mean the upsetness over what Rach did is over). As I said, definitely not my best work and not a very long chapter for how long I was away. But at least it is something. If anyone has an idea of where I should take this, don't hesitate to PM me, I've got a few small ideas, but nothing too concrete.<p>

Again, thanks for sticking with me and I hope you Read and Review, though you don't have to.

- Cassicio


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